After rafting and hiking for 12 days in June of 2006 from the upper watershed of the Hulahula River through the Alaska Brooks Range to the Beaufort Sea, all through ANWR, my wife and I appreciate more than ever why renewable energy must be developed in lieu of oil exploration in ANWR, on and off shore. Above, two of our group are climbing for a high view of the Hulahula valley. In the background is Mt. Michelson. Below, the view overlooking our campsite on the extensively braided Hulahula.

 The above picture illustrates the incredible beauty, contrast and life found in ANWR.

Below, we nose up to the "old" ice on the Hulahula in the coastal plain as we get closer to the Beaufort Sea.

With the temperature in the upper 30s F and in a strong wind, the below mother Eider duck hunkers down on the barrier and stunningly barren Aery Island to care for her eggs, determined not to move even for a distant photographer. The male will leave the nest area to act as a decoy.

A graveyard of trees, having washed westerly from the mouth of the MacKenzie River in the Yukon to this location. Our last day as we wait for the bush plane to fly us the short distance to the village of Kaktovik and then back to Fairbanks for the trip home.

An extraordinary journey that produced a profound and lasting appreciation for an ecosystem in much need of protection.

 Frances and Joe Sechler